Correctional officer interview: Questions and Tips

We live in an era of prisons. Correctional officer is quite a typical job nowadays, doesn’t matter how strange it sounds. I know personally at least ten people who work on different positions in various detention facilities. And I have been detained in a prison in Iran for six months, but that’s another story….

The hiring committee will ask you about different things: your attitude to prisoners, your experience, your physical condition, your teaching methodology, and other. They will also use psychometric tests – to ensure that you are capable to do the job, and mentally healthy. Taking into account the responsibilities of correctional officers, you definitely need to do a few things in an interview.

Show them the right attitude

You must show them that you consider this role to be your mission. You simply want to help the sentenced to get back on track. That’s what you should answer when they ask you why did you apply for this job – and you can bet you will get this question.

You need to present yourself as a confident individual, someone not afraid of anything. To be stressed in an interview is never good. However, it would be a huge mistake in an interview for a correctional officer job. Good candidates need to be confident, and ready to handle difficult situations.

Show respect in an interview. Hiring officers in prisons are accustomed to be respected. In an interview for a correctional officer position, you should show them the respect they are used to feel. Simply be nice to them, and do not try to play someone who knows everything. To show arrogance would be another huge mistake.